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<title>Prompt: Who Turned Out The Lights? by respoftw</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27165419">Prompt: Who Turned Out The Lights?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw'>respoftw</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Comfortween 2020 [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stargate Atlantis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Deaf Character, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:41:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>400</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27165419</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>John hadn’t known that Rodney played piano.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rodney McKay/John Sheppard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Comfortween 2020 [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947178</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>84</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Comfortween 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Prompt: Who Turned Out The Lights?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I saw a list of prompts for “Comfortween” <a href="https://hurtcomfortex.dreamwidth.org/22946.html">on dreamwidth</a></p>
<p>21. Who Turned Out The Lights?<br/>Helping someone with the temporary or permanent loss of a sense or ability, being unable to see, unable to speak, unable to hear.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>John hadn’t known that Rodney played piano.</p>
<p>He hadn’t known that Rodney had once loved music in the way that he loved science.</p>
<p>He hadn’t known that, deep down, Rodney still loved music in that whole, encompassing way that Rodney loved the important things.The things that matter.</p>
<p>He knew it now.</p>
<p>Now that Rodney wouldn’t ever hear music again.</p>
<p>He held Rodney through the great wracking, sobs that filled the room but not Rodney’s ears.</p>
<p>He kissed Rodney’s hair and rocked him in time to the music that Rodney had been blasting, unable to hear it even a little.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rodney was doing better these days. He had mastered sign language in a startlingly short amount of time and the obvious frustration at how slowly everyone else was picking it up made John work harder than he’d ever worked at anything before until he was better at it than even Rodney.</p>
<p>It wasn’t the same but Rodney was just as loud as he’d ever been, even though he rarely spoke aloud anymore.He filled a room the same as he always had.He was just as brilliant and would eviscerate in signed words anyone who expressed surprise at that fact.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>John saw through all of that to the sadness that lurked beneath.Rodney missed music in the same way John would miss flying.John couldn’t imagine living with a loss like that.</p>
<p>Maybe that was why he never fully gave up hope of finding a way to fix Rodney.Not that Ridney was broken, but - he just wanted Rodney to be happy.</p>
<p>He found the room in his trawling through the database. </p>
<p>Rodney’s eyes lit up as the vibration started.The light show that accompanied the music and the vibration was beautiful but John couldn’t take his eyes off Rodney.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rodney stayed in the room for hours. </p>
<p>John had found this for him.</p>
<p>Rodney knew that John still hoped for a miracle but Rodney was a realist.</p>
<p>He was deaf.</p>
<p>He was ok with that.He was becoming ok with that.</p>
<p>Happy? John signed.</p>
<p>Rodney rarely spoke anymore, he didn’t like not being able to hear himself, not knowing how loud he was speaking.He didn’t need words to answer John’s question though, not even signed words.</p>
<p>Rodney crossed the room, took John’s face in his hands and rested his forehead against John’s own.</p>
<p>I love you too, John signed.</p>
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